T MINUS ONE YEAR, TEN MONTHS, AND SEVERAL DAYS…

The clock is running, and the countdown has commenced. I’m starting this blog while sitting in a hotel room in Blythe, California this week. Why Blythe, you ask? Because Blythe is only 24 miles from Quartzsite, Arizona. What’s so special about Quartzsite, you ask? Glad you asked! I told a friend of mine I was coming here, and his comment was “On purpose?!” There isn’t a lot in Quartzsite, a town with around 4,000 year-round residents. Most of them seem to live in motorhomes as there are RV parks all over town. These rugged 4,000 souls are the people willing to take on Arizona in the summer. Starting in June and stretching into September, the temperature routinely hits three digits and rarely dips below 80 degrees at night. Then comes November through April and the temperature rarely gets within shouting distance of 80 degrees during the day, dipping into the 40s and 50s at night. This is when that population swells to about 2,000,000 from all of the snowbirds flooding in. There are plenty of places to camp, if you don’t mind the desert, and they’re all either inexpensive or free, two words folks on a fixed income love to hear. An added feature, which brings me here this weekend, is one of the country’s largest RV shows which will last 9 days starting January 22nd this year and going through January 30th.

You see, I am planning on retiring from my job as a machinist on December 29^th, 2023. That’s a Friday, which means, come Monday, January 1^st I start a brand-new chapter in my life. I plan to write part of that chapter while driving an RV across country to see all 50 states. Hopefully that tunnel to Hawaii will be built between now and then. I probably won’t buy the RV until sometime next year but, if you follow my blogs, you know I am big on research. I actually started researching RVs about this time last year. You can expect to see a few blogs, over the next 22 months, related to my pending retirement. If you are younger than about 45, you’ll most likely skip over those blogs as being old guy shit. I do promise you, however, that when you hit 60, you’ll be going “Damn, I wish I had read those”. And don’t expect to come to me with questions. I plan to be dead by then, or deep into an Alzheimer’s fog.

The thought of retirement is really pretty cool. Having a hard date makes it seem all the more real. When I was in my 20s, I wasn’t sure I’d make it to my 30s, much less retirement age. I also figured that “Hell, if I do make it to 30, I should be rich by then. Would someone pass me that bong”? When I got into my 30s, I realized I was over halfway to retirement and the idea of getting rich was several hundred bong loads ago. I started thinking about important things like a wife, a house, and a career. When I got into my 40s, I was married, owned a house (with the bank as my partner), and I had a pretty good job, having somehow managed to find the time to get a journeyman license as a machinist. Rich was a dream, but comfortably well off was a more realistic goal. Let’s say upper middle class, which was a lot more appealing twenty years ago than it is in todays’ economic mess with that segment of the population shrinking rapidly. They are all moving on up to the “RICH” or, more frequently, dropping into that chasm known as poor or homeless. But this wasn’t an issue twenty years ago and, with an optimistic mindset, I refinanced the house and used the money to buy into the machine shop where I worked. By the time I got into my 50s, I wasn’t really happy with the way the business partnership was going, after working it for fourteen years. In truth, I wasn’t really happy as a machinist or working in the oil industry either. Afterall, I had been at it for 28 years and was suffering major burnout. I needed a change. I sold my interest in the machine shop to my business partner and took a job on a commercial fishing boat in Alaska. That’s a blog for another day but I will say it’s the hardest job I’ve ever had. There is a song, or maybe it was a poem, about not appreciating something until it’s gone. Lugging around 25-pound baskets of salmon eggs, I began to realize that I was something of a Unicorn. Machinists, especially manual machinists, are a dying breed today. Most industries have gone CNC and really only need someone that can load a part and push a button. And 3-D printers may eventually replace all of us. I mean how far off, technically speaking, is a Star Trek type replicator? But the oil industry, I think, is always going to have a need for manual machinists, at least until someone really does invent a replicator. Especially lathe operators. Not only am I a very good lathe operator, but I have certain knowledge of tool designs, stored in this not-yet-addled brain of mine, that make me an asset. At fifty-two, I found myself back in the machine shops, taking a job in Bakersfield. I was tired of shouldering a lot of responsibility, so I signed on strictly as a machinist. I could clock out at the end of my shift and go home, leaving all the work stuff at the shop. With all of that extra time now on my hands, I decided to get into real estate investing.

And there you have it folks, how I find myself here today. Forty-three years as a machinist, forty of those in the oil industry, and fourteen as an owner. Nine years investing in real estate. Nine months as a blogger. Three months a commercial fisherman. But mostly, sixty-three years of taking Frank Sinatra’s advice and doing it my way. And my way includes an RV in the not-too-distant future.

The RV industry took a big, COVID inspired jump these past couple of years. I believe a lot of factors came into play. After a year under house arrest, people wanted to get out and play again. The fact that we are still going through a COVID pandemic has people worried about the tight quarters you find in hotels, no matter how much cleaning they claim to do. People are simply just scared, and bored, and fidgety. Suddenly, an RV made a lot of sense. They can get out and call on family and friends but keep them at arm’s length, so to speak. They can once again visit major tourist cities like Las Vegas and take their home with them, rather than stay in a hotel. I think an unexpected side effect is that people are getting out and experiencing nature more. Camping is not for everyone. I was an advocate and camped a lot when I was in my 20s, 30s, and even 40s. Nowadays my idea of camping is a four- or five-star resort. I am just not into the idea of spending the time and energy necessary to put up a tent and sleeping on the ground, only to take it all apart after a few days. The funny thing is I really love to fish. Fishing and camping in the eastern Sierra has always been a big deal for me and I still relish the idea of sitting in a canvas camp chair next to a roaring campfire, bundled in a sweater or jacket against those 40-degree mountain temperatures. You sit around that campfire, sharing a bit of the hair of the dog with your buddies, and lying about all those huge fish you caught in years past. You can do all that with an RV plus, at the end of the night, you can crawl into a soft warm bed. I think a lot of older people who, like me, loved camping when they were younger but are now kind of meh about it, have discovered this. It explains why there has been a spike in RV Sales figures as well as a spike in campground attendance. Nowadays if you are planning on camping anywhere, you had better call ahead check availability and be prepared to make reservations.

I had all of this in mind when I attended the RV show held in Quartzsite the week of January 22 – 29. It seems everyone has an opinion on what type of RV to buy. And there are so many different options to choose from. Some preferred to KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) and own the old-style camper shell on the back of a pickup truck, which they have been driving around in since 1982. Others upgraded to a trailer with a popup, so called because it pops up to give you living space, some deceptively large. Others preferred to have a regular trailer and drag it along behind them. Eventually this will morph into a fifth wheel, which can be monolithic in size and, with slide outs, quite roomy. These days, slide outs are the way to go, opening up a narrow, cramped aisle into luxurious living space. The majority seemed to favor Class C motor homes that, on average, range in size from 27′ up to 32′, although they can be as short as 21′ and as long as 41′. They are not overly intimidating to drive and will fit slots in most campgrounds. The ‘cockpit’ is usually built around a Ford or Chevy chassis, making it feel like driving a Chevy or Ford truck. Most of the people I spoke with are comfortable with the familiarity this RV offers. And there are those with the deep pockets necessary to afford the Class A behemoths ranging up to 45′ in length, some sporting up to three axels. These are the buses that rock bands tour in. They are almost a hotel on wheels. Right here let me point out what I am definitely not looking for. Camping shells and popups are not even worth the ink to discuss, as far as I am concerned. Just not my style. I am not looking for a fifth wheel. I don’t like the idea of having a pickup bed modified with a hitch for the tongue that will connect you to your home on wheels. While there are many advantages to these, the biggest disadvantage (strictly my opinion) is having that gas guzzling pickup truck as my only means of transportation. With the way gas prices are going, you want to drive around in something that is going to get you from point A to point B as expensively as possible. Especially for us retired senior citizens on a fixed income. I have a good friend whose father would park his fifth wheel in Silver Lake campground every summer back to the 80s. Us kids, so to speak (we were in our 20s), would come up and visit while staying in the tent campground across the highway. We had some great times fishing, visiting Joe in his fifth wheel, and going off fishing together. So, truth be told, I do have some nostalgia pangs for a fifth wheel. I have some issues with them as well, though. The main one being, if I buy a fifth wheel, I also have to buy a pickup truck to pull the thing. I’m actually looking to sell my 2019 Tundra when we head out into the wild blue yonder, since I won’t be needing a truck for a few years. If necessary, we could always buy a new one somewhere down the road, pun intended.

I don’t want to get a trailer that I can tow behind my truck. These tend to be smaller and less expensive than the fifth wheel and I could probably drag them along with a standard towing package on my current truck. But, for a lot of the same reasons I don’t want to get a fifth wheel, I don’t want a trailer. I still need a gas guzzling truck to haul one, which limits the kind of vehicle I will have available when I’m not towing the trailer. I also can’t get that movie with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, “The Long, Long Trailer”, out of my head when I think of these things. So, I admit it, I am biased.

I don’t want a gigantic, Class A converted bus. I can actually make a strong case for going this route but the biggest drawback, for me anyway, is the way it will hit my pocketbook. I had a friend that had one and it truly was a work of art. These things are beautiful to behold and actually are as big as some peoples’ tiny houses. These ‘motor homes’ start in at around $200,000 new. Those are the cheap models and honestly, at that price, I would be having some concerns about quality, knowing what the higher end models go for. Then you get into the motor homes that cost $400,000 to $600,000 but they go all the way up to $1,000,000 plus. I have heard some of these custom models that bands tour around in these days cost over $2M. No thanks! You get one of these with a diesel pusher in the back and they have all the torque you need and are very quiet. They are spacious and comfortable and, I think, afford you all the room you will ever need. One of the pluses, oddly, is also a drawback, and that is their size. When you get into these bigger rigs you start to limit yourself and where you can park in campgrounds. Many campgrounds only have a certain number of slots designated for larger rigs and this could be a problem. You will also be paying more for a camping spot.

What I am looking for is a Class C ride in the 25-to-35-foot range with a towing package. The towing package is a must. My wife has a little Jeep Compass that is a perfect size to tow behind us. We get into a campground, park the RV, and now we can explore with the Jeep, which is a comfortable ride and easy on the gas. It is just me and my wife and even these smaller RV’s have slide-outs. Slide-outs are a nice feature and a 32-foot motor home with opposing slide-outs would be plenty roomy. Aside from driving and sleeping, I don’t plan on spending a lot of time in the RV itself anyway. I have heard and read from numerous sources that recommended buying something used with low milage. This is because new models always seem to have little quirks and the first owner tends to iron those out. A used motor home with low milage should be road ready. So, this initial outing to Quartzsite is really an opportunity to see a lot of different motor homes and RVs all in one place to see what each has to offer.

This being my first trip to Quartzsite, I didn’t know what to expect. As I mentioned at the beginning, there really isn’t much to the town and I had to book a room at the Rodeway Inn over in Blythe, about 24 miles away. My arrival time was my first mistake. I rolled into Blythe at about 8:15 in the evening, tired and hungry after being on the road for seven hours. Trouble is, Blythe isn’t much larger than Quartzsite and everything closes at eight o’clock. It’s a good thing I like Taco Bell. Note to self – make sure you arrive in these small towns before 8:00 o’clock, best before 7:00. Mistake number two came the next morning. The show runs for nine days but the hours it is open are somewhat limited, 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. I had just a five-hour window on Saturday and Sunday to explore. With that in mind, I left my hotel room at 9:45 and arrived in Quartzsite at 11:15. I didn’t account for traffic you say! Nay, nay say I! Traffic was surprisingly light, all things considered. What I forgot to account for was that when you cross the Colorado River, moving from California to Arizona, you cross a time zone, gaining exactly one hour. Note to self – pay attention and plan for time zone changes. Mistake number three was listening to Map Quest GPS. The address for the show, taken from the web site, was 700 S. Central Blvd. Well, Map Quest led me to an RV park. Kinda, sorta but not really what I was looking for at all. I remembered when I got off the freeway, a mile or so back, Map Quest had me make a left while most everyone else seemed to be going right. I did a U-turn and, sure enough, that’s where I found the show. Either the web site had the wrong address or Map Quest was confused because, while I didn’t see an actual address, the location would seem to be about the 700 block of Central Blvd., just on the north side. Note to self – delete Map Quest.

This is where traffic did become an issue. The show was being held at the local, extensive fair grounds and everyone was trying to make a right-hand turn into said fairgrounds. I had gotten stuck in the left lane and therefore only had two options. I could go straight, which would take me God knows where, or I could move over one lane and make a left turn. From there I needed to find a spot to make a U turn and head straight into the fairgrounds. Well, I made that left turn and found dozens of cars parked on the dirt shoulder for the next mile or two as this was something of an unofficial overflow parking area. Finding a parking spot, I locked my truck and made the short, 10-minute walk over to the fairgrounds. Upon arriving, I discovered that nobody was there asking me to fork over an admission fee. In other words, the whole thing was free. You can’t beat that as an incentive builder. A road bisected the fairgrounds neatly down the middle. The question was, which side should I explore first. Since I was on the north side of that road already, I decided to stay there and see what was going on with this part of the show.

The answer was, a lot. Some of it even related to RV’s. This was like a giant, overgrown swap meet. Trouble is, I like to nose around swap meets. You never know what you might find. For instance, one of the first places I stopped at was a vendor selling handmade leather cases. Wallets, purses, and cell phone cases that could clip onto your belt. I like to wear T shirts and they don’t really have any kind of a pocket where I can put my phone. I usually put it in my pants pocket but then I have a nasty habit of sitting on it. For only $9, this was exactly what I needed, and I didn’t even know I was looking for one. Sold! I spent most of the day checking out what they had to offer. And there were probably 20 or 25 aisles worth of offerings. People there were selling lawn sculptures, tie dye clothing, jellies and jams, a lot of gemstones, hats, paintings, antiques (one mans’ junk is…) and a lot of different styles of clothing. Several vendors were selling all sorts of RV upgrades and things every RV owner must have. One tent was nothing but different types of kitchen utensils. Someone else was selling awnings. There were camp chairs, spare parts, generators, e-bikes, pumps, hoses, tools, you name it, if your RV needed it, it was there. In the center of all this activity they had a huge food court. You could get barbecue or pizza or burgers or ice cream. All kinds of sweets and nary a salad in sight. There was even a makeshift bar with a live band. With the amount of unhealthy food and the number of, shall we say, older people in attendance, I was surprised they didn’t have a heart defibrillator station located somewhere. Perhaps two or three to cover the afternoon rush.

By the time I crossed the road it was late in the day, and I knew I would have to put off checking out the RVs until Sunday. Still, I wanted to see what was over there because it was more than just RVs. The main attraction was a huge white central tent. This had all the comforts of the commercial tent at your local County Fair and many of the same vendors. There were the guys selling pots and pans with the lifetime warranty. Someone was selling fudge while someone else was selling mattresses. High Seas Trading was there selling Hawaiian shirts. I have a closet full of those and increased my inventory by one on this trip. Somebody else was selling leather goods. You could find everything from vacation packages to shoes, all the usual suspects.

The tent sort of had that ‘been there, done that’ feeling about it so I exited just as many of the vendors were starting to close down. Walking around to what I considered the back side of the fairgrounds, I discovered an area showcasing fifth wheels. Even though I wasn’t specifically looking for these, I walked up and down a couple of aisles, but nothing tickled my fancy. I was really looking for the class C motor homes and, being in a rush, didn’t see any. That was okay though. I planned to spend the entire day over here on Sunday. Walking back to my truck, I drove to the intersection where I had made the original left turn to find the overflow parking area. A right turn would have taken me back to the freeway but, instead, I went left. This took me along the outer edge of the fairgrounds, in the direction I had been going as I looked at the fifth wheels. Sure enough, just beyond where I had been looking while in such a rush, I saw more vehicles. Specifically, I saw the Class C motorhomes in which I was interested. And just beyond the fairgrounds, I spotted a lot of available parking off the side of the road. I determined to return here the following morning.

Now taking into account the time change, I arrived early the next day. As I followed the road to the parking area I had spotted the afternoon before, I noted an open gate allowing vehicles to pull in and park on the fairgrounds. I had just checked out of the Blythe hotel and had my laptop with me in my truck. I didn’t want to carry it around with me and leaving it in my truck in an unsecured area didn’t give me a sense of the warm fuzzies. It probably would have been safe, but I have become very cynical as I get older. EVERYONE is a suspect! I pulled into the fairgrounds (parking, $5, yay) and found a parking spot where I felt I could leave my laptop and not worry about it.

What I had considered to be the backside of the fairgrounds, yesterday, was now the front side today. Entering through a gate, once again no sign of anybody asking for admission, I found myself in a Winter Wonderland of motor homes. The fifth wheels I had been eyeing on the previous afternoon where on my right and my left but, as I walked straight ahead, those gave way to Class A buses. Still not what I had in mind, but I was taking something I had heard about Quartzsite to heart. I had heard that a lot of people retire and decide to travel by motorhome. They buy a smallish Class C and travel around for a year or so only to find they want to upgrade. It’s one of the reasons you can find a lot of good deals on used motorhomes in Quartzsite. There are retirees here with, what a close friend refers to as, stupid money. They want a quick upgrade and will let their existing rig go inexpensively so they can make that transition as painlessly as possible. I call that a win, win. Who knows, after a year or so in a Class C I may want to upgrade, and it doesn’t hurt to look. By the way, if you’re seriously looking at buying a motor home, especially a high end one, here’s another good strategy to consider. I had a friend of mine that bought a $300,000 rig several years ago. He bought it used in Oregon, the great advantage being Oregon doesn’t charge sales tax. The sales tax in California varies but, if you use the standard state rate of 7.25%, he saved himself over $21,000 in sales taxes. Registering your vehicle in Oregon is a hell of a lot cheaper also. The one caveat in all of this that he had to follow was, after he had made the purchase, he had to wait a specific amount of time, I think a year, before he could actually drive the vehicle into California and avoid those taxes.

Anyway, I took in a number of beautiful Class A motor homes, all 35 feet or longer. Pricing started in the mid $300,000 with the most expensive one coming in at $533,510. Later on, I saw some in a different area that were in the $200,000 range. With just a cursory inspection they didn’t appear to be much different but, for that much of a price difference, I would be concerned about quality issues. If I am going to buy a motorhome that big, I’m going to make sure I get the top end all the way.

Eventually I did get over to the Class A motorhomes. Most of the these were used, which is fine since that’s what I’m targeting anyway. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any pricing available, and I couldn’t find a salesman. Not sure I really wanted to find a salesman anyway, considering this is a strictly a look and don’t buy excursion. I don’t want to waste his time and I really don’t need the hard sales pitch, especially on a beautiful Sunday morning.

I saw what I wanted to see and got a good general idea of what I’m looking at as far as size, amenities, and price. Couple of things I have done since that little trip. First, I joined a group on Facebook posting used RVs for sale. I have actually seen a lot of nice rigs there, but this is a big decision, and I don’t want to rush it. Also, right now I’m just a looky loo. I don’t consider myself to be a serious buyer for at least another eight months. I have also started going on YouTube and Google to look at options. Dropping a few names, the Thor Tiburon Sprinter has a lot of good points. I especially like the fact that it comes with a diesel engine. The Coachman Freelander provides a choice of Chevy or Ford chassis. I’m a Chevy man myself. It also has slide outs in the bedroom and living areas which is a nice plus. Jayco is another popular manufacturer and I like the fact that some models come with a king size bed. I want to look at all of the options out there so this is going to be a process.